Olive
Olive '''is an upcoming video game for the Wii U developed by N Studios. The game is a plot-centric action RPG centered around a teenage girl with mysterious origins and the ability to call upon a long-forgotten power. She goes on an adventure to learn more about herself, while also saving the regions of Pangaia from their own troubles, especially dealing with a rising horde of shadow monsters. Plot Chapter 1: The Children of Wies Adventure Begins It is a warm summer day in the lush hills and valleys dotting the countryside of '''Kraj. Kraj is the major eastern region of Pangaia, a prosperous country on the seaside of a larger continent. Within the valley of two mountains acting as the border between Kraj and the northern region, Snezhok, a small village named Wies resides peacefully along the main road. Wies Village is not home to many people; only a few handfuls of poor Krajans call the place home. These residents are the main laborers in the region, engaging in such activities such as farming and mineral mining to service the country and Kraj's own capital, Kastelka. And yet, the stories and experiences of some of these people are far richer than their monetary wealth. In a little corner of the village, underneath the branches of the borderline trees of Jasny Forest, a special abode rests. Outside this home, a sign reads: The Children of Wies. "Come on Olive, let's go explore in the forest today!" A short and thin boy with blue hair and fair skin approaches a girl of similar age to his own. The girl leaps off of her bed. She is noticeably taller than the boy, while nearly as skinny. "Alright!" She exclaims, following with, "Oh, Cazten," She addresses the boy, "We should go get Emyla too. I think she's down at the roadside market." • Cazten joined the party! • Olive and Cazten leave the orphanage of which they call home, and head out into the Wies Village main square. A few around town greet the young teens, knowing them from seeing them around and during working days. The two continue until they reach the main road, a wide stretching dirt path on which transportation travels as far as from the capital, and all the way into Snezhok. Emyla, a young teenager and child of Wies, same as Olive and Cazten, hands off a satchel of potatoes to a customer travelling by pedal carriage, a four-wheeled vehicle powered by pedaling that is a useful bicycle replacement when taking or planning to receive luggage. She pockets the Alisi (the central currency of Pangaia) given as payment, and then hears her name being called. "Emyla! Hey!" Olive and Cazten meet up with Emyla. When asked to join them on their "expedition" into the forest, Emyla happily agrees to tag along. The three friends leave the roadside market and head down a small, unkempt pathway into the trees. • Emyla joined the party! • Before long, Olive, Cazten, and Emyla end up in the thick of Jasny Forest, quite a historic location in Kraj. The three friends continue following the path they entered with. Along the way, Olive spots a small and simply-crafted sort of sling bag laying in the grass alongside the path. She examines the outside of it. "Who would just leave their stuff behind?" Olive asks, opening the knapsack up, "Oh, never mind." She notices that nothing is left inside of the bag. Emyla chimes in, as Olive passes the bag off to the curious Cazten, "I think I've seen bags like these before! It's a Carrybag. Alisians wear them a lot when they come to the market." "Alisians?!" Cazten quickly looks up at Emyla, "You mean, like, big-shot country capital Centralis people? This thing is way too...not-fancy for them." "Well, it's got the Signia on it, just like our work clothes," Olive points to the same star-like symbol on her sleeveless top, "It's gotta be from Centralis." Cazten slings the bag's strap over his shoulder. "Let's keep it. It's not like you find something like this everyday." "Okay, cool. Maybe we'll find some things to put in it while we're out." Olive agrees. The three continue into the forest. • Acquired the Small Alisian Carrybag. Holds up to 16 items. Duplicate items don't count towards storage space! Isn't that sweet? • At the end of the path, the ruins of a small temple rest within a clearing surrounded by the usual trees. Olve, Cazten, and Emily spread out to explore the area. "Wow, look at these structures...how old do you think they are?" Emyla says, examining a pillar in front of the main altar, "And what does this language mean?" "I wonder if the dudes who built all this left anything cool behind." Cazten hopes, looking around what used to be a decorative spot filled with flowers and other greenery, but has since been taken over by common grass and weeds. Olive walks up the stairs of the main altar, stopping at the central pedestal. What is left of a mural behind the pedestal depicts a crowd of people bowing to and worshipping a very detailed rendition of what appears to be the Signia, although it's hard to tell since half of the mural is missing and/or in pieces laying about nearby. Suddenly, Olive recalls a scene in her mind: a little girl being rescued by travelers in front of this very mural... She keeps quiet about her memory, and as the sun begins to set, the three friends soon leave the forest and return to their home. The Invasion Olive dreams of the scene with the little girl that night. The girl, about five years old, lost and confused in front of the forest ruins, cries softly until she is found by some village residents who happened to be passing through. Olive understands that this girl is her, that this is something she had somehow forgotten. However, as her dream lays out for her, she cannot mention this to anyone, not even Emyla or Cazten. All of the orphans living in the home with her are the victims of a mining accident, and even though Olive showed up a few years later, the house decided to give her the same story when she couldn't remember her own. Now that she has remembered, it would make her fake story seem like a distasteful lie. Olive's origins are a mystery to her now. If she tells the truth, what little normalcy that she has will likely be destroyed. At that moment of in-dream realization, Olive is shaken awake by Emyla, pale-faced and wide-eyed like she had just seen a ghost. Immediately afterwards, the orphanage windows shatter as the ground thunders! "...What the hell is going on?!" Olive asks, bounding out of her top space on a bunk-bed. The ground shakes again, and the crumbling wooden beams of the ceiling start to fall, showering dust and a few wood chips onto the group of young teenagers escaping the building. Olive, in the thick of the crowd, is pushed along in their general direction, until a blast from some sort of cannon fire erupts near them. Some of the kids are impacted and fall to the ground, and the rest of the lot suddenly scatter. Olive, losing track of Emyla, and with no sight of Cazten, runs away from the village as fast as she can, into the trees of Jasny Forest. She only gets a glance at the village attackers. The small army appears to be dressed in heavy coats distinctive of the lands up north, a cold and desolate moutainous sheet of snow and ice known as Snezhok. Before Olive can reach the ruins, a hooded and cloaked figure appears out of the trees and pulls the girl aside. She tries to punch and kick at him, starting to release her pent-up anger and sadness as she is losing her home and her friends. The light of the burning village glows and the thunderous sound of attack booms in the background. The figure, holding off Olive's flailing, hands her a mysterious item: an ornate bracelet-looking thing, with one charm latched onto it: the Signia. "Use the Resonance Chain to fight the darkness." The figure cryptically explains, ending with, "...I'm sorry about your home." He then runs off. • Acquired'' the Resonance Chain. It's shiny surface and gold Signia charm make it look pretty important! Also it can fight shadows? What?!'' • Olive stares at the chain, its ornate design gleaming in the moonlight. Reluctantly, she wraps it around her right wrist and continues to the ruins. • • • A few hours have passed. The explosions and thunderous shakings have stopped. Olive looks forlorn, sitting in front of the mural and wiping away her tears. Slowly, a shadow overtakes the mural, and Olive turns around, seeing her own shadow growing above her. Frightened, she backs against the mural, as this growing darkness separates from her and takes on a new shape. The strange shadow creature attacks her. • ''Boss: Alphera Shadow'' • HP: 30 // DEF: 1 After Olive defeats the Alphera Shadow, it drops the Small Alisian Carrybag that Olive, Emyla, and Cazten had found hours earlier. "How did...that...end up getting this?" Olive wonders, knowing that she left it behind when she ran from the village. With nowhere else to go, Olive decides to head to Centralis. Hopefully there she will find help, and perhaps a few answers. • Chapter 1 complete! • • Emyla and Cazten have left the party. • Chapter 2: Welcome to the Grand City FIRST in the Other/Side: Kid and Kid Chapter 3: The Peaceful Region Grows Hostile Chapter 4: What Lies Beneath the Central City? Chapter 5: Secrets in the Tragedy of Prism Mine SECOND in the Other/Side: His Darkness Chapter 7: Save Centralis On The Way to The Frozen Land Chapter 8: Gazing Into The Stars of Darkness FINAL in the Other/Side: Destruction, and Her Chapter 9: The Other/Side Chapter 10: Activate the Lightkeeper Towers in Pangaia's Darkness Finale Gameplay The gameplay most closely resembles that of the Mario & Luigi series, as well as the Paper Mario series. Olive has two main sections of gameplay: exploring the various locations, known as fields, using different traversal abilities acquired throughout the game, and battlegrounds, which a player enters upon touching an enemy character within a field, or initiating a boss fight. Battles are turn-based, and rely heavily upon action commands to get the most out of basic moves and performing special moves. As the player progresses further into the game, they will acquire a variety of potential party members to mix and match in two partner spaces, meaning there can be a total of three playable forces on a battleground. Light Abilities and Attacks With the Radiance Chain, Olive can command different powers using the magic force of light! Light Abilities are the powers that Olive can use in the field, and Light Attacks are those that she can use in battle. Whenever Olive receives a new Chain Link, she gets a new Light Ability and Light Attack. These otherworldly moves, when used, deplete a Light Meter. This gauge will replenish very slowly over time, however items can be bought that will refill portions or the entire thing. Chemistry Rating As the player proceeds through the game, they will build a large roster of partner characters, each with their own unique abilities. However, there are even more special moves unlocked by use of a mechanic called the Chemistry Rating. When the player has two partners out on a battleground, a chemistry rating will appear, on a scale of 0 to 2. Every partner in the game has a 0, 1, or 2 rating with at least one other partner. Depending on said rating, a special move will be available after three turns of charging. The 2 rating is the one most players will want the most, as it yields the most powerful or beneficial reward, as opposed to the weaker 1 rating. However, if two partners receive a 0 rating, the same move is always made: Rage Inducer. This move is very powerful, but deals the same amount of damage to every unit on the battleground, including Olive and the two partners! Late into the game, the player will be able to use Olive herself to factor into the Chemistry Rating. This unlocks the potential for a Trinity or 3 rating, which yields a super-powerful move. There is a downside to over-focusing on Chemistry Ratings, though. A lack of focus on partners' individual strengths and weaknesses can lead to a quick death of a partner before the special move can even be played. The player must make sure in most cases to decide who will be fighting in a specific battle before worrying about who to play for the best ratings. Characters Playable Partners NPCs Resonance Forms Category:N Studios Category:Games Category:Wii U Games Category:Role-Playing Games Category:Action Role-Playing Games Category:2015 Bosses Items Important These items are essential to the player's progression in the game, and are oftentimes acquired through indirect means, such as in a cutscene. Recovery and Stat Boost These items can affect the stats of Olive and her partners. They are used completely by the discretion of the player, and are usually found in the field or acquired via shop purchase or as spoils from battles. All of these items can be used repeatedly during battle, for as long as the player has enough! Recovery Stat Boost Special Effects There are actually special effects that trigger when a single recovery or stat boost item is used repeatedly on one party member in a battle. These effects are sometimes purely cosmetic, but certain ones actually affect the battle. The number of uses varies depending on the item, the specific character, and if the item is used continuously each turn. Equippables These items...well, it's pretty self-explanatory. When equipped, these items provide permanent upgrades to certain stats of Olive or her partners. Equippables are split into the following categories: Outfits Outfits provide multiple stat boosts (and often reductions as well) to their wearers. Instead of having multiple outfits specifically for Olive and her several partners, any outfit can be equipped to any character in the player's party. The appearance of that outfit adapts based on the character chosen, but of course the stat effects remain the same. Wearables Weapons Resonance Chain Links When Olive visits a Lightkeeper Ruin, she will connect with her power of light, and be given a new link to add to her Resonance Chain. These links give her new powerful Light Attacks. Locations Pangaia Kraj *Jasny Forest *Wies Village *Foxtail Ravine *Capital Kastelka Centralis *Capital Central City *The Crater *Tower Royale Nanto *Capital Teikoku *Sakana *Hikari Beach Snezhok *Fort Snownight *Igloo Peak *Ice Planetarium Soundtrack Gallery Olivelogo.png|Logo Olive.png|Olive Kasza, in her Kraj outfit. This is how she appears at the beginning of the game. Olive Centralis.png|Olive in her Centralis outfit. Joza.png|Joza Vasil, in his Centralis outfit. Joza (Kraj).png|Joza in his Kraj outfit. Zania.png|Zania Vasil, in her Centralis outfit. Trivia *''Olive'' is the first RPG game title by N Studios. It is also the studios' largest project to date. *Each region of Pangaia is loosely inspired by a culture in real life. Earlier in development, this influence was greater, but over time, the regions developed identities of their own, straying away from their real-world foundations. The names of the regions and the places within them are the strongest indications of the cultures they started out following. **For more Pangaia-specific trivia, see here. *''Olive'' is heavily inspired by various shonen anime, not the least of which include Fullmetal Alchemist and Soul Eater. Creating a sense of fun adventure simultaneously with the looming aspects of high stakes and drama was planned from the very beginning, but the story of Olive has changed several times over the course of the game's development. **The large anime influence also pushed for a return to an art style that N Studios has not expanded upon since the production of Voidverse, which allowed for a more realistic look. *The story of Olive has gone through considerable changes during development. Evidence of some of these can be found by looking at the first draft of the game's soundtrack listing, which includes entries for plot-specific moments that were cut, and leaves out a few that were added in later. **Originally, the game was to open with a cutscene revealing the origins of main character Olive Kasza. However, this major plot device was cut from the beginning and placed near the climax of the story, to better connect the player to Olive's own discovery of self-identity in the first half of the game. Subtle hints may give away a part of the revelation to more alert players, but other than that the secret remains hidden from the early parts of the story. *A major point in Olive is that of character development. Characters were considered the most important part of the game as N Studios has never had a large roster of characters in any of their titles. The ambition to create a game with many diverse populants led to Olive's development as an RPG, along with the creation of an expansive world and story. *A major point in the lifestyle of Nanto, the region based off of Asian culture, namely Japanese, is the idolizing and emulating of trends popular in Centralis, the region based on American city life. This is a reversal of the popularity explosion of things like anime in Western culture. *You might notice a...pretty big difference between the outfits of siblings Joza and Zania Vasil when it comes to covering up. Their contrast is a satire of the traditional JRPG trope where women will have extravagant and revealing clothes and armor, while male characters receive more practical garments. This is also why Zania is the only female partner over the age of 18, as the underage aspect of the trope was decided to not be utilized. Category:N Studios Category:Games Category:Wii U Games Category:Role-Playing Games Category:Action Role-Playing Games Category:2015